Motorola and Verizon have confirmed the price and launch date for the Motorola Droid 4. Set to go on sale beginning Friday, February 10, the Droid 4 will cost $199 on a two-year agreement.

The Droid 4 has access to Verizon’s 4G LTE network, so its comforting to see the company offer a premium LTE phone under the $200 mark. Verizon has also dropped the price of the Lapdock 500, which is sold separately for $299. That will be a welcome change of pace for anyone who considered getting the accessory that can turn the phone into a special laptop-like mode for browsing the web and accessing apps.

There’s plenty to like with in the Droid 4. The phone continues the original Droid concept of high-powered specs mixed with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It basically looks like a Droid RAZR with a keyboard strapped on to it, and has:

Government-grade encryption (FIPS 140-2) for email, calendar and contacts; preloaded with Citrix® Receiver™ for Android (available in webtop) for desktop virtualization and access

8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video capture

Front-facing camera for video chat

4G LTE Mobile Hotspot supporting up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices

I played with the Droid 4 at CES and had a favorable first impression. The Droid 4 has a 5-row keyboard reminiscent of previous Droids, and the buttons are spaced out nicely. I did some brief testing of my favorite phrase – “Andrew Kameka is the greatest person on the face of the Earth” – and my thumbs immediately found the right key despite not having touched a QWERTY in months.

Pickings are slim for those who want a slide-out keyboard, but the Droid 4 is probably going to be at the head of the class thanks to its specs. There are some differences from the RAZR, the most noticeable being an LCD screen instead of Super AMOLED, but most of the other key specs are all present. Head to Verizon this Friday and test it for yourself to see if it’s worth upgrading.